


At Journey's End

by dirg



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 08:33:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15239499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dirg/pseuds/dirg
Summary: Rey and Ben have trained together since they were young. Their adventures are many, but ahead of them is their greatest challenge yet. When Rey receives a strange, dark vision, she knows she must follow the call. With the help of Ben and the friends they make along the way, Rey will journey to find the light--and the dark.





	At Journey's End

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this is my first SW fic. I am strictly a film-watcher, so my extended universe knowledge is limited. This au will take many liberties as it is a mashup of lots of my sci-fi/fantasy concepts! Enjoy!

From just outside the room, the sharp, distinct sound of lightsabers colliding seemed to permeate the walls. It was a familiar sound, one that had echoed through the ancient halls of the temple so many times before. If one listened carefully, another noise could be heard between saber strikes: the pained breaths and grunts of opponents as they predicted each other’s next move. Yes, these two had battled before. One need not watch them to know this; it was heard in every calculated inhale and exhale.

Because of this familiarity, the fight was hard won. When the small, limber woman finally bested her hulking opponent, she flashed him a taunting smile. Her saber pointed at his neck, he dropped his weapon and raised his hands in surrender.

“Had enough?” She jeered. The man glanced down at the searing green beam only inches from his windpipe and considered his options.

“You don’t give me much choice,” he replied through gritted teeth. When the blade collapsed into the hilt, the man almost toppled over, which only made the woman smile wider.

In the hall, the aged master listened to the exchange of insults between the two young Jedi. _I told you not to hold your elbows so high,_ and, _you worry about your own elbows!_ As their bickering went on, the master chuckled quietly to himself. He knew there was no real hostility between them, these children who had become adults overnight. While they certainly knew how to argue, they also knew how to forgive, for they were laughing together soon enough.

If the master sensed darkness in the two young Jedi, he did not trouble himself with the thought in that moment. How could one think of it then, when there was so much light to behold?

 

* * *

 

 

Of all the privileges afforded by the Jedi lifestyle, Rey could not think of one greater than the constant supply of clean, hot, running water. How she had ever lived without it she did not know. Now the shower was a sanctuary for her, a place where peace and cleanliness lived and where the stresses of the day could be washed down the drain with the suds. There was not much room for vulnerability in the Jedi temple, but under the running water, one could escape. Here, Rey was in a world of her own.

“ _Hey! Hurry up!_ _I need in there, too!_ ”

Well, at least for a few minutes.

The sound of Ben Solo’s powerful knocking echoed through the tiled washroom, and Rey sighed. The hot water had felt especially good on her aching muscles, and she had hoped for a few more minutes of peace. Sadly, she turned the creaking knob and the water slowed to a trickle. She savored the last few drops of hot water as more furious pounding sounded.

“Rey,” Ben called. “If you don’t hurry up, I’m coming in.”

“Hold _on_!” She hurriedly reached for her towel. While there were a lot of rules at the Academy, Rey could not recall one regarding lockpicking. Just as she tucked the towel under her arm, she heard the unmistakable _click_ of the lock as Ben willed it open.

Rey’s free hand flew up instinctively, and the lock froze in place. She concentrated on the metal switch as forcefully as she could, but she felt Ben’s matched effort through the door. The lock wiggled from side to side as one person gained the advantage and then the other, back and forth. As the mental tug of war continued, Rey quietly inched herself forward, until she was within reach of the door. When the lock had almost completely turned in Ben’s favor, she reached forward and simply opened the door. The effect was just as amusing as Rey had hoped: the door opened just in time for her to see Ben stumble backwards and fall to a knee.

“I _said_ hold on.” She glared down at him and crossed her arms. “Try it again and I’ll break your hand.”

Ben scoffed, “I’d like to see you try.” He rose to his full height, towering over Rey. She rolled her eyes at this.

“Don’t tempt me.” She smiled sweetly up at him, but her eyes were set in concentration. Master Luke had strict orders against their using the Force against each other for “juvenile purposes,” and while this would certainly qualify, _Ben_ had started it.  She watched with delight as he struggled under her hold, his arm twisted at a grotesque angle. One twitch of her finger and she could snap a few bones in his wrist. He squirmed with discomfort, barely choking out the word, _enough_. She released him, and he took a few small, gasping breaths.

“Would you like to see it again?” She asked sweetly. Ben rubbed his wrist and chuckled darkly.

“No, thank you.” He shook his head. Rey smiled victoriously. She _did_ love to best him.

That was how it was with them. Ever since they were young, everything was a competition—everything Jedi-related, that is. Rey could recall the first time she had ever seen spoken to Ben, a gangly twelve-year-old with four years and more than a foot on her. He looked her up and down and said, _what can_ you _do?_ Some fifteen years later, she was still doing everything in her power to answer him.

She had already begun to walk away when she called over her shoulder, “Hurry up! We leave in an hour!”

If Ben muttered, “ _Yes, Mom_ ,” in response, Rey was not certain, for she had disappeared down the hallway, her mind already lost in another thought.

***

 While the Academy was a something of a maze, Rey could navigate its snaking halls with her eyes closed (and she often did, when training days were particularly grueling). Today, though, she was wide awake with anticipation—and just a little apprehension. By the time she reached her room, her head was aching with the weight of her thoughts. As she dressed, she spoke quietly to herself, recalling lost duels and missteps and countless admonishments. In front of her small mirror, she slowed and willed herself to take in a few slow, calming breaths. When she reached the stage of anxiousness where she was talking to herself, a moment for the collecting of thoughts was necessary. One by one she sifted through each thought, dismissing those that were inconsequential for the time being (even the memory of Ben besting her in combat through what she _knew_ was a cheap shot, though she would certainly return to it later). When she was done, she was left with the single nagging thought that was the true root of her anxiety. She clutched the edge of her desk as she approached the swirling, inky cloud. The room filled with cold air as she was transported to whatever hellish place in which this dark notion resided. From the murky shape came cries of pain and suffering. Above that, there was one distinct word.

_Rey._

She returned reality with an unpleasant thud. Relief flooded over her as she cracked an eye to discover she was back in her small suite. She released her white-knuckled grip from the desk and wiped the moistness from her palms. A groan escaped her throat as a single thought crossed her mind: _I need to find Master Luke._

Admittedly, this was easier said than done. The master had no office, no meditation quarters, not even a sleeping suite. Rey was not _entirely_ sure Luke slept at all; it was not uncommon to hear him wandering the halls of the Academy during the early hours of the morning, humming some tuneless song to himself. No, you could not simply knock on Master Luke’s door. It was a matter of stumbling upon him. Today, Rey hoped she would stumble upon him sooner rather than later. She wasn’t sure it could wait.

In the common area she found the general hustle and bustle of the Academy. Padawans chased each other with wooden saber staffs; philosophers carried stacks of ancient texts from the library to their suites for closer examination; teachers oversaw it all, trying with little success to keep order. In all the chaos, Luke was nowhere to be found. Rey huffed and walked on to the docking bay.

The shift from chaos to silence was immediate. The bay was full of sleeping ships parked under impregnable restraints—not that this had ever stopped Rey before. As she passed each vessel, she recalled memories of havoc wreaked by her and her rotating cast of misfits (though Ben seemed to be present in most of them). Here and there she recognized a scratch she had caused from an especially rough landing or a dent she had inflicted in a particularly vicious spar. When she reached the most well-worn ship in the bay, a small transport called the Seeker, she smiled. This was Luke’s ship, and the familiar hum radiating from it let Rey know she had found who she was looking for.

“Rey,” called a familiar voice before Rey even reached the end of the corridor. Certainly, there was no sneaking up on Master Luke. “You’re early.”

The aged master sat in the pilot’s chair, his arms folded at his chest over his simple, grey robes. As if to match, his hair was grey, and so was his cleanly-kept beard. Even his eyes appeared grey in the dim light in the [common room]. He had always looked like this, for as long as Rey could remember. It seemed to her that she had known the same Luke all her life. Of course, he wore his usual, gentle smile, just as he had on that day so many years before when he extended his hand to her on Jakku. To look at him, Rey thought, one would not know he was the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy.

“Yes,” she replied. “Someone forced me out of the washroom—or tried.” She smiled to herself but said nothing more, knowing Master Luke would likely not approve.

“Ah,” Luke said. “Ben does need a _lot_ of time with the mirror.”

Rey let out a surprised cough of laughter, imagining the spar that was likely unfolding at that very moment between Ben and a comb.

When her laughter waned, she sat in silence for a moment, not sure how to continue. Luckily, Master Luke seemed to sense her uneasiness and spoke for her.

“You’ve come for another reason,” He said seriously. It was not a question.

“Yes, I…I have something I need to discuss with you.” She stared in her lap at her fidgeting hands. When she finally looked up, she saw that the smile had been wiped from Luke’s face. And when he spoke, his voice matched his somber expression.

“I know what troubles you, Rey, for it troubles me, too.” At this, Rey sat up and leaned toward him.

“It does?” Her voice was small, like a child’s, but it was all she could muster. She suddenly felt very afraid.

“Yes. I sense it in you. It has been grieving you for some time.” Again, he was not asking, but she nodded anyway.

“Show me.” He extended his hand—his real one—and hesitantly, Rey took it.

Together, they fell from the flight deck into the dark corner of Rey’s mind. The sensation was sickening, though she was not comforted when they finally came to a halt, for the air was cold and moist and made hair on her arms stick up. Beneath their feet was muck—Rey knew no other way to describe it. Thick fog made it difficult to see even a few feet in any direction, so it was with hesitancy that she freed her feet from the sludgy ground and stepped forward.

“What is this place?” She uttered to the wind.

“I don’t know,” said Luke. Rey felt her stomach drop at these words. Very few times in her life had Master Luke resigned to not knowing. He seemed to always have answers for her frequent questions, even her most ridiculous ones. Rey had learned that if Master Luke didn’t know something, it was not meant to be known. If he did not understand this place, she suddenly thought to herself, how could she?

Before Rey could speak again, a blood-curdling scream pierced the otherwise silent atmosphere. Instinctively she reached for the place where her lightsaber usually hung around her waist but found it empty. When she cursed to herself, Luke reached out his hand and clasped her arm.

“It’s okay,” he said, though there was little assurance in his voice. “It can’t hurt you, not from here.”

Rey urgently wanted to ask exactly what _it_ was that made that noise, or caused it, but she feared that she might receive another non-answer, so she simply nodded. As she had so many times before, she placed her trust in Master Luke.

Luke opened his mouth to speak again, but he was interrupted by another pained scream. This time, though, Rey made out a word. More precisely, a name.

“ _Rey_!” screamed the voice, though it was distorted and distant, like everything in this place. When the voice sounded again, Rey leapt forward, ready to spring into action, but Luke held her back.

“I have to go!” She yelled at him, but his hand remained tightly locked around her arm. She tried to tug free, but it was useless—this was his bionic hand, and all her movements here were slow, as if in a dream.

Before she could protest, the scene suddenly shifted around them. Again, Rey was struck by the nauseating sensation of falling through time and space. When they landed, they found themselves not in the hellish, dream-like landscape from before, but somewhere much more familiar. The air was hot and dry, and beneath their feet was sand. Rey never thought she would be so glad to see blasted sand.

“Where—” Rey began, but she was cut off by the sound of children’s laughter. A group of them ran past—no, not past, _through_ them, like they were holograms. A ball was being kicked between them, and they shouted the usual playful jabs. Around them were squat, red buildings where people drifted in and out, arms full of laundry and water jugs and little children. Compared to the place from which they had just come, this felt like some mundane paradise to Rey.

Suddenly, the children’s laughter subsided. Rey’s eyes fell to the place where the group was dissipating. As the children backed away, the cause of their silence became very clear. In the center of the group stood a slight girl dressed in rags; there should have been nothing unusual about her. But there, several feet above her head, hovered the ball that they had been kicking about. The girl’s eyes were locked in concentration, but Rey recognized the fear in them, too. She had felt that fear once, fear of a strength she did not understand.

Rey felt the sudden urge to call out to the girl. The sound that escaped her throat was distorted and strange, but the girl seemed to notice anyway. When her eyes left the ball, it fell to the sand, though none of the children tried to steal it away. The girl stared past them all, her eyes straining to place the source of the sound. When Rey tried to speak again, all the light left the place. She was falling again, only this time, she landed back in the flight deck.

“She was using the F—”

“Yes,” Luke nodded calmly.

“All those children, they saw.”

“Yes.”

“Does she understand what it means?” Rey asked, though she already knew the answer.

“Probably not.” Luke replied quietly. “Did you?”

Rey wrapped her arms around her waist as she was transported to the memory of life on Jakku. She would never forget the feeling of absolute terror as she dangled a hunk of metal just in front of her face using nothing more than her mind. Though she first felt powerful, it quickly faded to fear as she tried to make sense of what she was. She felt sick as she began imagining what would become of a freak like her. Would Unkar Plutt auction her off to the highest bidder? Would she become some cruel creature’s slave? Or perhaps she would simply be killed, too dangerous to exist.

“We have to find her.” Rey stated boldly, shock fading to panic. “We have to. She needs help, I can feel it. She’s lost—and the dark place, from before, it must be connected somehow. Maybe she’s stuck there. She’s calling out to us. We have to go!”

Rey rattled on like this for a minute more, her thoughts spilling out of her faster than she could process them. If the girl was stuck in that terrible place, then they had already wasted too much time. Suddenly Rey was filled with anger. For how many days had she allowed the vision to fester in her mind simply because she was afraid of it? How long had that girl suffered because Rey had been weak? She had called out through the Force, just as Rey had once. Rey had to find her.

Luke remained silent through her entire spiel, until she stopped in front of him with a huff of frustration.

“Well?” She threw up her hands.

“You’re overwhelmed,” He said steadily.

“Yes, I am!” She sputtered. “You saw that place! We can’t leave her there!”

“Where is _there_?”

Rey crossed her arms. “What?”

“You believe that the girl is stuck in that place. Where is that place?”

“I…” Rey muttered.

“Which village? Which sector?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“What planet? What system?”

“I don’t know!”

Luke flashed her that look, that one she despised so much. The one that held no contempt or malice but somehow said, _you’ve been bested._ She turned her back to him, not wanting to let him have this victory.

“Rey,” he said softly. “I know that she needs help. And I think that you must be the one to help her.” At this, Rey turned a little so that she could see him just out of the corner of her eye.

“But leaving in a hurry, with no plan and no real understanding of what’s at stake…well, that’s how good Jedi get into trouble.” Rey thought she detected the hint of a smile on his lips, like he was remembering his own misguided adventures from another time.

“Now, I won’t pretend I can keep you here. You’re old enough to make your own decisions, and strong enough to best me if I tried to tell you otherwise.” Rey flashed a reluctant grin at the floor.

“And wherever you go, Ben will be close behind, I am sure.” Rey opened her mouth to protest, but Luke would not let her. “Hear this now, for the both of you: take a moment to think before you act. I know you two have a knack for rushing to the scene at the first sign of trouble, but this is different. I sense something powerful here, something dark. I don’t think this can be solved with your lightsaber and quick wits alone. Come to the gala tonight. In the morning you will have had time to think. And then, if you still feel you must go, you can.”

Rey considered this. The Solstice Gala seemed so trivial to her now. How could she waste a whole night mingling with New Republic officials when there was a Force-sensitive child out there who desperately needed her help? But Luke did have a point: Rey had no idea where to begin. Though they often went on missions like these, rescuing younglings who needed guidance, it was always with intel. _There are reports of a child with mysterious abilities on Irodonia,_ she heard Master Luke saying. In this case, she had nothing. Only the hints that the vision had provided, which were slim to none. She could think of ten sand-covered planets in this system alone. And as for the dark place, she did not have the slightest notion where to begin. Though she hated to admit it, Rey accepted that perhaps Master Luke was right.

“Go where?” A voice sounded from the corridor, pulling Rey from her thoughts. She turned to see Ben ducking into the flight deck. She straightened up, her mind racing to find some excuse.

“The library,” Luke replied easily. “Rey thinks she knows Malachorian history better than I do.”

Ben scoffed but otherwise seemed uninterested. He sat down next to Luke and began preparing the engines. Rey was glad—she would tell Ben, but later, when they could scheme without Master Luke’s input.

Rey fell into the passenger chair and sighed. The chaos of the last hour had almost made her forget about the Gala. It was guaranteed to be a drawn-out, stuffy affair, full of fake smiles and small talk. Though the task of tracking down the girl from her vision was daunting, to say the least, Rey was certain she would prefer it to the night ahead of her.

“Remember,” Master Luke said. “Best behavior tonight—no funny business. And _no_ _weapons_.”

As Rey nodded, she slowly reached her hand to adjust the lightsaber strapped to her calf. She glanced over at Ben and saw him doing the same.

“And Ben, do me a favor.” He turned to his nephew. “Talk to your mother. She worries about you.”

Ben did not reply, continuing with the pre-flight checks as if Luke had said nothing. Rey’s mouth twitched. If General Organa was attending, perhaps the evening would not be as dull as she had thought.

As they shot from the flight deck, Rey glanced out the window and watched the dots of light rush past them like hundreds of gleaming comets. Looking out across the vast canvas of planets and stars, a single question pulled at her.

_Where are you?_


End file.
